Channel NewsAsia (CNA) is Singapore’s equivalent of Russia Today where its journalists aren’t allowed to cover a whole range of topics, said author and former EIU senior editor Sudhir Vadaketh on Thursday (12 Aug) after Mediacorp issued a statement saying that its hiring policies and practices are based on merit.

In its statement on Wednesday (11 Aug), Mediacorp emphasised its commitment to equal opportunities and diversity in its workforce, pointing to its “diverse” group of presenters, of whom 30 per cent are from minority groups.

The broadcaster also highlighted that 40 per cent of CNA’s newsroom – from reporters to producers and editors – are from minority groups, adding that this is “significantly above the national average”.

Mediacorp’s statement came after BBC journalist Sharanjit Leyl, a Singaporean, recounted in a radio programme the challenges she faced in securing a job at a local Singapore broadcaster a couple of decades ago.

“I had friends of every race, but my pride in multicultural Singapore comes with the acknowledgement that had I been born Chinese, my life might have been a lot easier,” said Ms Leyl on the BBC series From Our Own Correspondent which was aired on BBC World Series on 7 August.

“It started with applying for jobs when I returned from North America in the 1990s, armed with a master’s degree and broadcast journalism experience in Canada. I struggled to get my foot in the door at the local news broadcaster,” she expressed.

Ms Leyl then recalled her experience of working with an American financial news agency where she had to provide currency updates to local channels.

“They told my bosses they didn’t want me doing TV updates for them.

“I now know the man who runs that same TV channel who ironically happens to be Indian Singaporean and I confronted him about why there were still so few Indian or Malay anchors presenting their programs. His response was that viewers didn’t like watching darker-skinned presenters,” she recounted.

In its statement, Mediacorp noted that these comments are seemingly in reference to the company and its editor-in-chief, Walter Fernandez.

“We would like to clarify that Mr Fernandez did not make such a statement,” it stated.

Regarding the alleged confrontation, Mr Fernandez said that it was actually just a conversation between him and Ms Leyl that took place in November 2018 at a media dinner.

“To my recollection, I did not reference race or skin colour at all in our conversation.

“What I did speak about was the number of Singaporeans with relevant skill sets who apply to be presenters, the rigorous selection process which includes written and on-camera tests as well as interviews with several senior editors. I also made the point that I was not part of the interview panel,” he said.

Turning a question of colourism into one about minorities

Following this, Mr Vadaketh took to his Facebook on Thursday (12 Aug) to share with his views on the matter.

He kicked off by recalling the moment when Ms Leyl had told him that she had been passed over by CNA because of her skin colour and race.

“I was a bit shocked. Surely skin colour couldn’t have been the reason, not in ‘multicultural’ Singapore?” Mr Vadaketh expressed.

However, “others have since suggested similar things,” he said, adding that it is “no surprise that the vast majority of CNA presenters are (fair-skinned) Chinese and Eurasians”.

Touching on the argument that Singaporean viewers do not fancy watching darker-skinned presenters, Mr Vadaketh wrote: “This is classic Singaporean doublespeak: relying on supposed market preferences to mask inherent biases, to justify discrimination.”

He also challenged the notion further by questioning whether a national broadcaster should “validate prejudice” even if the argument is true.

“If viewers didn’t want to watch women, should Mediacorp field an all-male cast?” Mr Vadaketh questioned.

He went on to say that what makes this worse is that the statement allegedly came from Mr Fernandez who is of South Indian descent himself.

Expanding further on Mediacorp’s “terrible, evasive” response, Mr Vadaketh highlighted how the statement turned a question about colourism into one about minorities.

“Sharanjit’s complaint was about the number of Malays and Indians and about ‘darker-skinned presenters’.

“Mediacorp didn’t bother responding to that, but instead said that ‘Some 30 per cent of CNA news presenters are from minority groups’. Well, guess what? The minorities are almost all Eurasians and others with light skin,” he explained.

Mr Vadaketh then asked, “What about Malays and Indians?”

Noting that the CNA website lists all of its presenters, he spotted only one Malay presenter out of 35 – Ms Syahida Othman.

A recent check by TOC shows that the page has since been updated. It now shows a total of 31 presenters.

However, there is still only one of them who is of Malay or Indian descent – the same person spotted by Mr Vadaketh in his post.

“In other words, Malays and Indians comprise just 2.9% of CNA’s main presenters, even though these groups produce some of television’s best, like Haslinda Amin at Bloomberg and numerous incredible Indians at the BBC,” said Mr Vadaketh.

In a postscript, he stressed that there is a deeper discussion to be had about colourism, describing it as one of the prejudices that are prevalent across racial lines.

Public allegiance to the party line is a prerequisite

Besides that, Mr Vadaketh also dismissed Mediacorps claim that its hiring policies are based on “merit”, stating that “like with media outfits in other illiberal democracies, public allegiance to the party line is a prerequisite”.

As an example, he noted how the broadcaster “would never hire” Kirsten Han as a journalist or invite PJ Thum for a political discussion. This is despite Ms Han’s work being more “meritorious” than its current writers, and Mr Thum’s ability to “draw more eyeballs” and “offer better ratings”.

“’Public allegiance to the party line’ does not necessarily imply that they vote for the PAP,” Mr Vadaketh asserted, adding that he knows of many “fervent opposition supporters” at Mediacorp.

“Rather, all employees, including broadcast journalists and other presenters, are trained to bite their tongues.”

He further elaborated, “Channel News Asia is Singapore’s equivalent of Russia Today. Its journalists, many smart and with their hearts in the right place, know very well that they are not allowed to cover a whole range of topics, such as Ho Ching’s earnings (Putin’s), and must follow closely the PAP’s script (Kremlin’s) on issues like China and US relations.

“In fact, the clearest evidence that Mediacorp does NOT hire purely on merit is in its very snub of Sharanjit Leyl, who subsequently joined the BBC and won numerous plaudits for her work.”

Mr Vadaketh then questioned, “Are Singaporeans supposed to believe that CNA presenters are better than Sharanjit?”

“We are also supposed to believe that Chan Chun Sing is better than Tharman. Ok lor.”

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